The European Cricket Network live broadcasts the 2020 European Cricket Series Barcelona November encounter between Raval Sporting and Minhaj.
Tune in to the live action Monday from 8:30am CET * 7:30am UK/GMT * 1pm IST from the Montjuïc ground in Barcelona, Spain.
Team Preview for Raval Sporting
Raval Sporting CC have only played two matches after opening their series on Friday. Unfortunately, they were not able to win either of them, although they looked good with the bat in both matches. Scoring 128 in each match, their bowling was unusually expensive so they’ll be looking to tighten up at the outset of the final week of action. They play two games again on Monday in Barcelona.
Captain: Ishan Patel
Main Wicketkeeper: Kishitij Patel
Key Players:
Kishitij Patel is a wicketkeeper and aggressive left-hand opening batsman. He blasted past his previous best ECS score of 30 in their last match, batting thru the innings for an unbeaten 65 off 33 balls including six maximos! If he can keep up that kind of form, Raval Sporting could make a run up the table.
Ishan Patel was their leading run scorer and equal leading wicket-taker in the October series. Although he had a quiet day on Friday, I expect him to stamp his authority on proceedings sooner or later.
Abishek Borikar impressed me opening the bowling in Raval’s first two matches, with two wickets in each innings. He will want to take some early wickets before the game gets away.
Team Preview for Minhaj
Minhaj CC may be 2019 Spanish champions but they haven't had such a great time in their European Cricket Series debut, winning only one out of their five matches to this point. Things don’t get any easier in this clash – with several key players expected to be missing including captain Muhammad Aftab Nawaz and star performer Muhammad Riaz.
Captain: Amar Shahzad
Main Wicketkeeper: Usman Mushtaq
Key Players:
Alumdar Hussain was sorely missed while he was out of the team. He held their innings together in their last match against Badalona Shaheen, scoring 64 off 30 balls out of their total of 111. I expect him to open the batting with Usman Mushtaq who is likely to be preferred for the gloves in this one.
Jafar Iqbal has played some nice cricket since coming across from Pak Montcada. He should bat number three and has 83 runs for the series including a half-century, an impressive unbeaten 53 off 20 balls against Falco.
Sarfraz Ahmed is Minhaj’s workhorse. Has 81 runs and three wickets in this series but will really have to step up in the absence of the stars missing this game.
Mr Maximo’s tip: RAVAL SPORTING
Minhaj are an interesting case. After being trounced in their first match, scoring only 46; they were a team on the rise the next day, beating a strong Falco team but that progress stalled in the loss to Badalona Shaheen at the end of the week.
Raval Sporting have only played two matched and have a more realistic path to the final four so I expect them to come out hard. They are more experienced in the T10 format than Minhaj after playing in the October ECS.
I think a combination of Minhaj’s missing personnel and Raval’s hunger for higher honours will result in a win for Raval Sporting in this match, the first of 20 the second and final week of the November edition of the European Cricket Series Barcelona. By the end of the week, we will know the champions of the ‘Barcelona Bash’!
Tune in to the European Cricket Network to catch all of the action, available on FanCode on the Indian subcontinent and Sports Flick if you’re watching from anywhere else around the world.
